E-Media Tidbits

Jetalone, via Flickr (CC license) The quick fix is a notable advantage of online media.

Yesterday I was reading a MidwestBusiness.com article about Legacy.com, the obituary site that's part-owned by the Tribune Co. Legacy.com faces a potential threat from Tributes.com -- a new obituary site being spun off from Eons.com by one-time Monster.com head Jeff Taylor.

The article referred to "Legacy.com CEO Hayes Ferguson" and later says, "He added in an interview... [etc]." Well, Hayes is a woman. (If you Google for her image, you may even spot one reference to "a very pregnant Hayes Ferguson" -- an old image.) Also, she's COO, not CEO.

This made me question whether the "interview" was actually an e-mail exchange or a more traditional interview -- which in my opinion implies face-to-face. Way back when, when I was a reporter, it was drilled into me that the context of the information delivered is important -- a telephone interview, an in-person interview, a newspaper or broadcast quote, or an e-mail exchange. (Oh, wait: We didn't have e-mail back then...)

I shot the writer an e-mail (two, actually) pointing out the errors. Within an hour, they were fixed. Well done with the fast correction.